What can I say?
To my own surprise, I got accepted into a graduate school program in Europe!
The program is called ARCHMAT, and it is a part of Erasmus Mundus. Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters Degree are prestigious mobility programs sponsored by the European Union. For each program, there are multiple participating universities in and outside the European Union. A program normally lasts for 2 years as a normal master's degree should, but it also depends on the program. It is a system where it allows you to study in a different university in a different country every semester.
You can apply for up to three programs listed in the Erasmus Mundus catalog per year. If you apply within the specified period, you will automatically be considered for their scholarship. If you get the scholarship, not only tuition but also living expenses and travel costs will be covered. Basically, you can go to graduate school and travel in Europe for 2 years, at little to no cost... What more can we ask for? It's quite an amazing opportunity!
I thought the odds were high. Erasmus Mundus programs are known to be competitive. I must admit I was a little intimidated at the beginning. At the same time, I went for my usual optimism—I had nothing to lose by applying for this program. It never hurts to give it a try, does it? Luckily, the application process went smoothly, and I received notices of acceptance in April. I had decided in advance that I would not go if I had to pay for the program out of pocket. Depending on the country, the program can be on the expensive side for a European graduate school. On top of that, I was not sure what it was like to study abroad during a pandemic. In the end, I was accepted for a scholarship. At this point, nothing was stopping me from going to Europe!
I got accepted into an archaeological materials science program called ARCHMAT. I chose this program because I studied architecture for my bachelor's and wanted to be involved in building conservation. This program is held in Portugal, Greece, and Italy.
When I was about 20 years old, I envisioned myself staying in Europe for about two years, whether to study or work and traveling to see architecture by the age of 30. In my opinion, a couple of weeks of vacation must not be enough to absorb all the goodness in Europe. I was thinking about going on a work-holiday program after finishing my bachelor's, but then, one of my friends who had already been in one of these programs told me about how awesome her journey had been. I thought the structure of these programs, which involves moving to various countries, was just right for me, so I applied for them in the end.
The problem was that moving to Europe for two years could have cost me my permanent residency in the United States. There are so many problems with this that I would have to make a separate post about this topic. In the end, I applied for a Reentry Permit, and I am now waiting for it to be approved and issued. At this point, I truly regret not applying for American citizenship. However, since Japan does not recognize dual citizenship, there is not much I can do about it...
I consider myself so lucky that I had the privilege to be educated at an American university, and now I am able to go to graduate school in Europe! Who would have imagined? The thing is, at the end of the day, it is up to you to make use of the opportunities that your luck brings to your life. You could make it or simply break it.
Looking forward to Europe.
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